IKEA Live Oak, bordering the southwestern corner of Interstate 35 and Loop 1604, is expected to be the centerpiece of the 112-acre shopping center, owned by Dallas-based real estate firm the Weitzman Group.

The 289,000-square-foot store is scheduled to open next spring. It’s expected to employ 250.

The retailer’s expansion into the San Antonio region was a “long time coming,” said Live Oak City Manager Scott Wayman.

The city had been pursuing the retailer to open a location in Live Oak for about 15 years.

Live Oak and IKEA officials praised past and present city leaders for their aggressive pursuit of the store, which announced its arrival to the city in November 2016.

“We stand on the shoulder of the councils that worked before us and brought us to this point,” Live Oak Mayor Mary Dennis said at the groundbreaking.

Although Live Oak boasts two busy shopping centers — The Forum and the Live Oak Crossing — city officials called the addition of the European-based IKEA a game changer.

The planned shopping center, Wayman said, is “going to change the way people look at our region.”

Wayman credited The Forum for boosting the city’s economic development portfolio.

Approximately $27 million will go toward public improvements for the entire 800,000-square-foot shopping center, with the money split between IKEA and Weitzman Group, as part of an incentive deal between Live Oak and the two companies.

The terms of the deal include Live Oak and Weitzman Group collecting 75 percent of property and sales tax revenue and the city 25 percent until the full $27 million is reimbursed to Live Oak.

Wayman has said he expects the city to be fully reimbursed in about nine years. He anticipates the shopping center to generate about $5.1 million in total taxes annually.

“(The shopping center) will bring people to our city to stay in our hotels, eat in our restaurants and explore our region,” said Wayman, who anticipates 2.3 million visitors annually to IKEA Live Oak.

Among visitors the city and IKEA hope to welcome are travelers from Mexico who drive through the area on I-35.

“We do know that there’s a large amount of business that comes from Mexico to San Antonio to shop,” said Chuck Coker, IKEA real estate and development manager. “And we want to make sure we capture our share of that.”

As for the other space at the shopping center, Michael Schoenbrun, a representative of the Weitzman Group wouldn’t disclose which businesses have expressed interest.

An announcement about the next phase of development should come by the end of the year, he said.